Advertisers are faced with daunting new realities when considering the various media they might use to get their messages across. Traditional media are losing control over their audiences. That means that advertisers can no longer feel secure that their ads on TV, on the radio or in print are going to receive mindshare. Gone are the days when television and radio programmers enjoyed captive audiences who happily sat through ad after ad, or planned their schedules around favorite shows. Consumers, especially consumers in younger demographics, now demand more and more control over what they watch, read and listen to, and thus more control over the advertising they might be exposed to. Advertisers are being forced to adapt to a changing industry. Plunkett’s Advertising & Branding Industry Almanac 2008 identifies and details the biggest, most notable changes in this mutable industry. Some exciting examples include:

1) DVR Market Evolves/Time-Shifting Hurts Advertisers.

Digital Video Recorders (DVRs, also known as Personal Video Recorders or PVRs) allow viewers to download broadcast television, satellite television and cable programs for later viewing. The impact of these devices on the advertising industry, as well as ancillary businesses such as television networks and cable companies, is very great indeed. It’s not surprising then, that advertisers cry foul over DVR viewers’ ability to skip or fast-forward through their extremely expensive ads.

2) Embedded Advertising/Product Placement/Branded Entertainment and Marketing Soar.

This is the practice of arranging for products and brands to be seen in use by entertainers or athletes, or in relation to a specific event or locale. For example, marketers very frequently pay substantial fees to have characters in a movie drive a certain make of car or drink a certain brand of soft drink. This is often true in television as well.

3) Billboards Go Digital.

Outdoor advertising was a $23 billion industry worldwide in 2006. One of the hottest venues for advertising is plasma billboards and signs. Take a stroll around Times Square in Manhattan, wait for the tube in London or drive down the strip in Las Vegas for glaring examples. These dynamic screens, able to rapidly change messages or display continuous video streams, can be both eye-catching and relevant, in contrast to their static precursors.

To find out more about these exciting trends and others, check out Plunkett’s Advertising & Branding Industry Almanac 2008, or go to www.plunkettresearch.com and sign up for a subscription to Plunkett’s completely up-to-date online database!

About Plunkett Research, Ltd.
Plunkett Research, Ltd. is a leading publisher of complete business research and analysis resources designed to enable professionals in marketing, research and finance to access complete trends analysis, statistics, technology analysis and financial analysis of the world’s most exciting industries. For more information, visit www.plunkettresearch.com, or call 713.932.0000.